Health

HealthWatch: Stanford Researchers Unlocking Secrets Of Successful IVF

Embryologist Ric Ross holds a dish with human embryos at the La Jolla IVF Clinic February 28, 2007 in La Jolla, California. The clinic accepts donated embryos from around the country through The Stem Cell resource which are then given to stem cell research labs for research. (Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

STANFORD (CBS 5) – More than 60,000 babies are born each year due to in vitro fertilization, but those numbers may go up thanks to some revealing research out of Stanford University.

Scientists have developed new methods of identifying the embryos most likely to be fertilized.

Researchers thawed 75 donated single-cell embryos and used time lapse photography to track their timing and development for 48-hours. Only 53 of the embryos had normal timing in development and had progressed to the four cell stage.

An even bigger surprise was that, among those 53, half had the wrong number of chromosomes.